Old/New Testament
13 Saul was 30 years old when he became king. He was king over Israel 42 years.[a] 2 Saul chose 3,000 men from Israel. There were 2,000 men who stayed with him at Micmash in the mountains of Bethel. And 1,000 men stayed with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. Saul sent the other men in the army back home.
3 Jonathan attacked the Philistine camp in Geba. And the other Philistines heard about it. Saul said, “Let the Hebrew people hear what happened.” So he told the men to blow trumpets through all the land of Israel. 4 All the Israelites heard the news. The men said, “Saul has defeated the Philistine camp. Now the Philistines really hate us!” Then the Israelites were called to join Saul at Gilgal.
5 The Philistines gathered to fight Israel. They had 3,000[b] chariots and 6,000 men to ride in the chariots. Their soldiers were many in number, like the grains of sand on the seashore. The Philistines went and camped at Micmash which is east of Beth Aven. 6 The Israelites saw that they were in trouble. So they went to hide in caves and bushes. They also hid among the rocks and in pits and wells. 7 Some Hebrews even went across the Jordan River to the land of Gad and Gilead.
But Saul stayed at Gilgal. All the men in his army were shaking with fear. 8 Saul waited seven days, because Samuel had said he would meet him then. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal. And the soldiers began to leave.
9 So Saul said, “Bring me the whole burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” Then Saul offered the whole burnt offering. 10 Just as he finished, Samuel arrived. Saul went to meet him.
11 Samuel asked, “What have you done?”
Saul answered, “I saw the soldiers leaving me, and you were not here. The Philistines were gathering at Micmash. 12 Then I thought, ‘The Philistines will come against me at Gilgal. And I haven’t asked for the Lord’s approval.’ So I forced myself to offer the whole burnt offering.”
13 Samuel said, “You acted foolishly! You haven’t obeyed God’s command. If you had obeyed him, God would make your kingdom continue in Israel forever. 14 But now your kingdom will not continue. The Lord has looked for the kind of man he wants. The Lord has appointed him to become ruler of his people. He is doing this because you haven’t obeyed his command.”
15 Then Samuel left Gilgal and went to Gibeah in Benjamin. The rest of the army followed Saul into battle. Saul counted the men still with him, and there were about 600.
Hard Times for Israel
16 Saul and his son Jonathan stayed in Geba in the land of Benjamin. The soldiers with them also stayed there. The Philistines made their camp at Micmash. 17 Three groups went out from their camp to attack. One group went on the Ophrah road in the land of Shual. 18 The second group went on the Beth Horon road. And the third group went on the border road. It overlooked the Valley of Zeboim toward the desert.
19 The whole land of Israel had no blacksmith. This is because the Philistines had said, “The Hebrews might make swords and spears.” 20 So all the Israelites went down to the Philistines. They went to have their plows, hoes, axes and sickles sharpened. 21 The Philistine blacksmiths charged about one-fourth of an ounce of silver for sharpening plows and hoes. And they charged one-eighth of an ounce of silver for sharpening picks, axes and the sticks used to guide oxen.
22 So when the battle came, the soldiers with Saul and Jonathan had no swords or spears. Only Saul and his son Jonathan had them.
Israel Defeats the Philistines
23 A group from the Philistine army had gone out to the mountain pass at Micmash.
14 One day Jonathan, Saul’s son, spoke to the officer who carried his armor. Jonathan said, “Come, let’s go over to the Philistine camp on the other side.” But Jonathan did not tell his father.
2 Saul was sitting under a pomegranate tree at the threshing floor near Gibeah. He had about 600 men with him. 3 One man was Ahijah, who was a son of Ichabod’s brother Ahitub. Ichabod was the son of Phinehas, Eli’s son. Eli was the Lord’s priest in Shiloh. He wore the holy vest. No one knew Jonathan had left.
4 There was a steep slope on each side of the pass. Jonathan planned to go through the pass to the Philistine camp. The cliff on one side was named Bozez. The other cliff was named Seneh. 5 One cliff faced north toward Micmash. The other faced south toward Geba.
6 Jonathan said to his officer who carried his armor, “Come. Let’s go to the camp of those men who are not circumcised. Maybe the Lord will help us. It doesn’t matter if we have many people, or just a few. Nothing can keep the Lord from giving us victory.”
7 The officer who carried Jonathan’s armor said to him, “Do whatever you think is best. Go ahead. I’m with you.”
8 Jonathan said, “Then come. We will cross over to the Philistines. We will let them see us. 9 They may say to us, ‘Stay there until we come to you.’ If they do, we will stay where we are. We won’t go up to them. 10 But they may say, ‘Come up to us.’ If so, we will climb up. And the Lord will allow us to defeat them. This will be the sign for us.”
11 Both Jonathan and his officer let the Philistines see them. The Philistines said, “Look! The Hebrews are crawling out of the holes they were hiding in!” 12 The Philistines in the camp shouted to Jonathan and his officer, “Come up to us. We’ll teach you a lesson!”
Jonathan said to his officer, “Climb up behind me. The Lord has given the Philistines to Israel!” 13 So Jonathan climbed up, using his hands and feet. His officer climbed just behind him. Jonathan cut down the Philistines as he went. And his officer killed them as he followed behind Jonathan. 14 In that first fight Jonathan and his officer killed about 20 Philistines.
15 All the Philistine soldiers panicked. Those in the camp and those in the raiding party were frightened. The ground itself shook! God caused the panic.
16 Saul’s guards were at Gibeah in the land of Benjamin. They saw the Philistine soldiers running in every direction. 17 Saul said to his army, “Check and find who has left our camp.” When they checked, they learned that Jonathan and his officer were gone.
18 So Saul said to Ahijah the priest, “Bring the Ark of the Covenant of God.” (At that time it was with the Israelites.) 19 While Saul was talking to the priest, the confusion in the Philistine camp was growing. Then Saul said to Ahijah, “Stop. There’s not time to pray now!”
20 Then Saul and the army with him gathered and entered the battle. They found the Philistines confused, even striking each other with their swords! 21 Earlier, there were Hebrews who had served the Philistines and had stayed in their camp. They now joined the Israelites with Saul and Jonathan. 22 All the Israelites hidden in the mountains of Ephraim heard that the Philistine soldiers were running away. They too joined the battle and chased the Philistines. 23 So the Lord saved the Israelites that day. And the battle moved on past Beth Aven.
Saul Makes Another Mistake
24 The men of Israel were miserable that day. This was because Saul had made an oath for all of them. He had said, “No one should eat food before evening and before I finish defeating my enemies. If he does, he will be cursed!” So no Israelite soldier ate food.
25 Now the army went into the woods. There was some honey on the ground. 26 They came to where the honey was. But no one took any because they were afraid of the oath. 27 But Jonathan had not heard the oath Saul had put on the people. So Jonathan dipped the end of his stick into the honey. He pulled out the honey and ate it. Then he felt better. 28 So one of the soldiers told Jonathan, “Your father made an oath for all the soldiers. He said any man who eats today will be cursed! That’s why they are weak.”
29 Jonathan said, “My father has made trouble for the land! See how much better I feel after just tasting a little of this honey! 30 It would have been much better for the men to eat the food they took from their enemies today. We could have killed many more Philistines!”
31 That day the Israelites defeated the Philistines from Micmash to Aijalon. After they did this, they were very tired. 32 They had taken sheep, cattle and calves from the Philistines. Now they were so hungry they killed the animals on the ground and ate them. But the blood was still in the animals! 33 Someone said to Saul, “Look! The men are sinning against the Lord. They’re eating meat that still has blood in it!”
Saul said, “You have sinned! Roll a large stone over here now!” 34 Then he said, “Go to the men. Tell them that each person must bring his ox and sheep to me. They must kill and eat their ox and sheep here. Don’t sin against the Lord. Don’t eat meat with the blood still in it.”
That night everyone brought his animals and killed them there. 35 Then Saul built an altar to the Lord. It was the first altar Saul had built to the Lord.
36 Saul said, “Let’s go after the Philistines tonight. Let’s take what they own. We won’t let any of them live!”
The men answered, “Do whatever you think is best.”
But the priest said, “Let’s ask God.”
37 So Saul asked God, “Should I chase the Philistines? Will you let us defeat them?” But that day God did not answer Saul. 38 That is why Saul said to all the leaders of his army, “Come here. Let’s find what sin has been done today. 39 As surely as the Lord lives, even if my son Jonathan did the sin, he must die.” But no one in the army answered.
40 Then Saul said to all the Israelites, “You stand on this side. I and my son Jonathan will stand on the other side.”
The men answered, “Do whatever you think is best.”
41 Then Saul prayed to the Lord, the God of Israel, “Give me the right answer.”
And Saul and Jonathan were chosen by throwing lots. The other men went free. 42 Saul said, “Throw the lot. It will show if it is I or Jonathan my son who is guilty.” And Jonathan was chosen.
43 Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.”
So Jonathan told Saul, “I only tasted a little honey from the end of my stick. And must I die now?”
44 Saul said, “Jonathan, if you don’t die, may God punish me terribly.”
45 But the soldiers said to Saul, “Must Jonathan die? Never! He is responsible for saving Israel today! As surely as the Lord lives, not even a hair of his head will fall to the ground! Today Jonathan fought against the Philistines with God’s help!” So the army saved Jonathan, and he did not die.
46 Then Saul stopped chasing the Philistines. And they went back to their own land.
Saul Fights Israel’s Enemies
47 When Saul became king over Israel, he fought against Israel’s enemies all around. He fought Moab, the Ammonites, Edom, the king of Zobah and the Philistines. Everywhere Saul went he defeated Israel’s enemies. 48 He became strong. He fought bravely and defeated the Amalekites. He saved Israel from the enemies who had taken what the Israelites owned.
49 Saul’s sons were Jonathan, Ishvi and Malki-Shua. His older daughter was named Merab. His younger daughter was named Michal. 50 Saul’s wife was Ahinoam daughter of Ahimaaz. The commander of his army was Abner son of Ner. Ner was Saul’s uncle. 51 Saul’s father Kish and Abner’s father Ner were sons of Abiel.
52 All Saul’s life he fought hard against the Philistines. When he saw strong or brave men, he took them into his army.
Jesus Sends the 72 Men
10 After this, the Lord chose 72[a] others. He sent them out in pairs. He sent them ahead of him into every town and place where he planned to go. 2 He said to them, “There are a great many people to harvest. But there are only a few workers to harvest them. God owns the harvest. Pray to God that he will send more workers to help gather his harvest. 3 You can go now. But listen! I am sending you, and you will be like sheep among wolves. 4 Don’t carry a purse, a bag, or sandals. Don’t stop to talk with people on the road. 5 Before you go into a house, say, ‘Peace be with this house.’ 6 If a peaceful man lives there, your blessing of peace will stay with him. If the man is not peaceful, then your blessing of peace will come back to you. 7 Stay in the same house. Eat and drink what the people there give you. A worker should be given his pay. Don’t move from house to house. 8 If you go into a town and the people welcome you, eat what they give you. 9 Heal the sick who live there. Tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is soon coming to you!’ 10 But if you go into a town, and the people don’t welcome you, then go out into the streets of that town. Say to them, 11 ‘Even the dirt from your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you.[b] But remember that the kingdom of God is coming soon.’ 12 I tell you, on the Judgment Day it will be worse for the people of that town than for the people of Sodom.[c]
Jesus Warns Unbelievers
13 “How terrible for you, Korazin! How terrible for you, Bethsaida! I did many miracles in you. If those same miracles had happened in Tyre and Sidon,[d] those people would have changed their lives and stopped sinning long ago. They would have worn rough cloth and put ashes on themselves to show that they had changed. 14 But on the Judgment Day it will be worse for you than for Tyre and Sidon. 15 And you, Capernaum,[e] will you be lifted up to heaven? No! You will be thrown down to the depths!
16 “He who listens to you is really listening to me. He who refuses to accept you is really refusing to accept me. And he who refuses to accept me is refusing to accept the One who sent me.”
Satan Falls
17 When the 72[f] men came back from their trip, they were very happy. They said, “Lord, even the demons obeyed us when we used your name!”
18 Jesus said to the men, “I saw Satan falling like lightning from the sky. 19 Listen! I gave you power to walk on snakes and scorpions. I gave you more power than the Enemy has. Nothing will hurt you. 20 You should be happy, but not because the spirits obey you. You should be happy because your names are written in heaven.”
Jesus Prays to the Father
21 Then the Holy Spirit made Jesus rejoice. He said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the people who are wise and smart. But you have shown them to those who are like little children. Yes, Father, you did this because this is what you really wanted.
22 “My Father has given me all things. No one knows the Son—only the Father knows. And only the Son knows the Father. The only people who will know about the Father are those whom the Son chooses to tell.”
23 Then Jesus turned to his followers and said privately, “You are blessed to see what you now see! 24 I tell you, many prophets and kings wanted to see what you now see. But they did not see these things. And many prophets and kings wanted to hear what you now hear. But they did not hear these things.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.